TRAVEL STARTUP FARALONG.COM LAUNCHES WITH A €500.000 GIVEAWAY TO ITS CLIENTS

An experienced team of adventurers and industry specialists from Finland, validated their idea with a stunning 100% success rate on their first funding round. The first five investors signed up for €500.000 seed investment and only 12 months from the first pitch the revolutionary booking platform has now been launched.

“Our investors trusted us in creating the best possible solution to sell travel packages, the initial €500.000 investment is proof of that trust. We want to share that feeling with our clients and offer them the same amount to spend with us, so they can see for themselves that we are simply the best place to buy these tours. Collecting the first round of funding was surprisingly easy. We pitched our idea to five preferred investors and all were in. I don’t know many startups with a 100% success rate. I guess that says a lot about the value we create.” Says Kalle Viira, faralong.com CMO

The first 5000 registered accounts will automatically receive €50 into their wallet, and by inviting friends there is another €50 easily earned. This amount can be used booking any tour in the future. The account provides the option to create a bucket list, getting personalised updates when favorite tours get cheaper or when something similar is added to our product portfolio.

“Our pricing is based on actual costs from the providers, and everyone pays according to the number of people in the group. This sharing aspect is a big thing for us. Faralong.com ended up becoming, to make it simple, the AirBnB of guided tours and adventure holidays. Possibilities are endless but the real deal is to connect travellers more directly to local operators around the world. And to each other.” Kalle Viira continues

Faralong.com – three Finns walk into a bar in North Korea

Disruptive models and digitalization were the main topics of the November 2014 World Travel Market and March 2015 ITB Berlin trade events. Pacific Asia Travel Association hosted a conference in February 2015, titled “traditionalists versus disruptors”.

May 2014 Faralong.com CoFounder Kalle Viira was leading a group of travellers in North Korea (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea), part of that group were Miia and Aapo Bovellan. Kalle is interested in why they joined a Finnish group while living in London. Conversation moves to their new project, a brand venture fund, that matches Kalle’s faralong.com concept perfectly. Kalle pitches his concept in a bar in Pyongyang, making Proxy Ventures the first investor, with their studio creating the branding that eventually becomes Faralong.com.

“Miia and Aapo were looking for early stage companies from industries they enjoy and founders with passion. Proxy is a new model itself, taking startups into international markets with applying great branding straight off the bat. Pitching doesn’t get much easier than while trying out our product in one of the most exotic destinations on the planet, that shouts revolution in every corner.”

Faralong.com is a digital booking platform connecting travellers more directly to travel services worldwide. Sleek and easy to use, it paves the way for digitalizing the Adventure Travel Market and general tour business.